Forty Years of S

The

"FEW DIPLOMATIC documents i
as much worldwide attention as
ation, issued on November 2, 1917,
government, by its then Secretar
Affairs, Arthur James Balfour.
Viewed from the standpoint of
ship, this historic paper laid the fo
State. From the _paint of view of J
hopes arid. aspirations and of Biblic
of Israel was an inevitable result a
live: and to regain statehood, of th
istically, the Balfour Declaration
document to create a path for the
November 29, 1947, in support of
Plan.
IN JEWISH TRADITION, the
a mere sequence to the aspirations
the redemption of Zion. Three times
"May our eyes behold a return unt
(V'sechezeno eneinu b'shuvcho lez
The precedent for the action to
ernment, under the leadership of I
Arthur James Balfour, in 1917, was
century B.C.E.. when the return of
facilitated by this declaration of Cv
"Thus said Cyrus king of Pe
of the earth hath the Lord, the Gc
and he hath charged me to build
salem, which is in Judah. Whosoe'
of all his veopie. his God be with
to. Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
the Lord, the God of Israel. (hi
Jerusalem. And whosoever ig left,
sojourneth, let the men of his Diac
and with gold. and with goods, a
the freewill offering for the hotise
salem."

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,

Hand-lettered illustrated drawing of the Balfour Declaration' in English
text and in Hebrew translation, by world famous artist, Arthur
Szyk.
'

Foreign Office,

November 2nd, 1917.

I have much pleasure in conveying

to you,

On

behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following

declaration of sympathy with Jewisb Zionist aspirations

which MS been submitted tcc

and

approved by. the

Cabinet.

His Majeety'e Government view with favour the

establishment

it

Palestine of a national home for the

Jewish people, and will use their best endeaVours to

facilitate the achievement of this object. it being

LORD BALFOUR

clearly understood that nothing shall be done which

may -prejudice the civil and religious rights of

existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the

rights and political status enjoyed

by

Jews in any

other country'

I should be

grateful if you would bring this

declaration to the knowledge of the Zionlit Federation.

Dr. Theodor Herzl

',MORENO i •

Woodrow Wilson

Dr. A. H. Silver

Lloyd-George

LOUIS

T.

D.

Roosevelt

BRANDEIS 'CHAIM WEIZMANN

Wm. McKinley

H. S. Truman

W. G. Harding

David Ben-Gurion

F. D. Roosevelt Dr. S. S. Wise

RETROSPECTIVELY, the col
were created by the Balfour Decla
many years of struggles against i
and to have its intentions honored a
So heartless were the methods
many British officials, in their al
intent of the declaration, that
another was issued by successive I
ducing the Balf6ur pledge to a sc:
influence, and the determination d
sacrifice an historic ideal on an alt
triumphed over -all the obstacles.
DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN, who
dent of Israel, found it necessary i
as president - of the Jewish Ageric
National Conference for Palestine,
shall not be intimidated" by the "sty
Paper" that was issued at that th
warning to the British government
are too weary, our suffering is to
with palliatives. We want evidenc4
standing and a will to action."
There was very little evidence
and "a will to action." Earlier, how
the twenty-fifth anniversary of tI
there still were firm assertions of
cause. Skeptics might say that it
Zionist in an era when the entire
rebirth appeared to be but a drea
spectively, it is valuable to review
movement's supporters. •
AN OVERWHET .MING MAJOF
Congress—including Michigan's Sen
and Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Rer
ley. John D. Dingell. Albert J. Engel
J. Jonkman. Rudolph G. Tenerowic
—acclaimed the Balfour Declaratit
anniversary, as "the common purp-o
to right this cruel wrong" of the Na. ,.
"to exterminate a whole people."
The American legislators — th
Harry S. Truman, who, later, as F
States, was the first head of a State
of Israel, on May 14, 1948—avowed
ration "has become the declared and
United States to favor the restoratio
al Home."
ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR,
American Zionist Medical Unit, in 1
movement for the restoration of Jei
destruction of Judea that occurred
is one of the great wrongs which
trying to redress."
At the Peace Conference, in P
even the Arabs, who had fomentec
they are today doing it for Israel J
Zionist program. A statement issue('
delegation by its chief, Emir Feisal